Bird Blog

Hale County is the center of Alabama’s catfish farming industry. These shallow man-made ponds present excellent habitat for swallows; Barn, Cliff, Rough-winged, and Purple Martins breed here, while Tree and Bank swallows are migrants. This is a good area for finding waders, including Wood Storks in summer and fall. You will see Red-winged Blackbirds, Belted Kingfishers, and a variety of shorebirds here.

Old Cahawba Archaeological Park near Orville was chosen as the site for the Black Belt Birding Trail Advisory Group’s May meeting and, as a bonus, we conducted a 2-hour bird walk prior to the meeting. Although the Clear Creek Nature Trail is located just west of the Visitor’s Center, we chose to bird the Capitol Reserve. This section of the park is located immediately around the site of the capitol on the southeast side of the park adjacent to the Alabama River. It is level and provides easy access to a nice variety of habitats including mixed bottomland forest with a dense understory, cypress slough, and lawn dotted with mature hardwoods, many festooned with Spanish moss.

Shirley’s Bridges span the Sipsey River’s bottomlands in northern Tuscaloosa County. The birding here is spectacular from spring through fall, when the birds are abundant and easily observed from the road’s apron around the bridges. You will hardly believe that so many Prothonotary Warblers, Acadian Flycatchers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and American Redstarts exist. Also look for Anhingas and Mississippi Kites, both of which breed in the vicinity. This area provides a great birding experience – one of the best in the state.

by Judy and Don Self Campbells …